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BROAD BEAN

Faba vulgaris
The Broad Bean is a thrifty plant, as hardy as any in the garden, and
very accommodating as to soil. It is quite at home on heavy land, but in
common with nearly all other vegetables it thrives on a deep sandy loam.
Considering the productive nature of the plant and its comparatively
brief occupation of the ground, the common Bean must be regarded as one
of our most profitable garden crops. Both the Longpod and Windsor
classes should be grown. For general work the Longpods are invaluable;
they are early, thoroughly hardy, produce heavy crops, and in appearance
and flavour satisfy the world at large, as may be proved by appeal to
the markets. The Windsor Beans are especially prized for their superior
quality, being tender, full of flavour, and, if well managed, most
tempting in colour when put upon the table.
For early crops the Longpods claim attention, and sowings may be made
towards the end of October or during November on a dry soil in a warm
situation, sheltered from the north. Choose a dry day for the operation.
On no account should the attempt be made while the soil conditions are
unfavourable, even if the sowing is thereby deferred for some time. The
distance must depend upon the sorts, but two feet will answer generally
as the distance between the double rows; the two lines forming the
double rows may be nine inches apart, and the seed two inches deep. On
strong ground a distance of three feet can be allowed between the double
rows, but it is not well to give overmuch space, because the plants
protect each other somewhat, and earliness of production is the matter
of chief moment. Thoroughly consolidate the soil to encourage sturdy
hard growth which will successfully withstand the excessive moisture and
cold of winter. It is an excellent practice to prepare a piece of good
ground sloping to the south, and on this to make a plantation in
February of plants carefully lifted from the seed rows, wherever they
can be spared as proper thinnings. These should be put in double rows,
three feet apart. If transplanted with care they will receive but a
slight check, and will give a successional supply.
Main Crops.--Another sowing may be made towards the end of January,
but for the main crop wait until February or March. For succession crops
sowings may be made until mid-April, after which time there is risk of
failure, especially on hot soils. A strong soil is suitable, and
generally speaking a heavy crop of Beans may be taken from a
well-managed clay. But any deep cool soil will answer, and where there
is a regular demand for Beans the cultivator may be advised to grow both
Longpods and Windsors--the first for earliness and bulk, the second for
quality. The double rows of maincrop Beans should be fully three feet
apart, and the plants quite nine inches apart in the rows. The
preparation of the seed-bed must be of a generous nature. Where grass
land or land of questionable quality is broken up and trenched, it will
be tolerably safe to crop it with Beans as a first start; and to prepare
it for the crop a good body of fat stable manure should be laid in
between the first and second spits, as this will carry the crop through,
while insuring to the subsoil that has been brought up a time of
seasoning with the least risk of any consequent loss.
There is not much more to be said about growing Beans; the ground must
be kept clean, and the hoe will have its work here as elsewhere. The
pinching out of the tops as soon as there is a fair show of blossom is a
good plan, whether fly is visible or not, and it is also advisable to
root out all plants as fast as they finish their work, for if left they
throw up suckers and exhaust the soil. The gathering of the crop is
often so carelessly performed that the supply is suddenly arrested.
Sowings under Glass.--In an emergency, Beans may be started in pots in
the greenhouse, or on turf sods in frames for planting out, in precisely
the same way as Peas for early crops. This practice is convenient in
cases where heavy water-logged ground precludes outdoor sowing in autumn
and early spring. In all such cases care must be taken that the forcing
is of the most moderate character, or the crop will be poor and late,
instead of being plentiful and early. When pushed on under glass for
planting out, the young stock must have as much light and air as
possible consistent with safety, and a slow healthy growth will better
answer the purpose than a rapid growth producing long legs and pale
leaves, because the physique of infancy determines in a great degree
that of maturity, not less in plants than in animals.